The leader as coach: building stronger teams

Kendra Waring, adviser and

Helen Northall, chief executive

Primary Care Commissioning (PCC)

• An independent provider of practical, expert support to the

public sector

• A not-for-profit social business with roots in the NHS, PCC’s

mission is to help organisations to improve services with the

emphasis on quality of care and value for money

• Our business is founded on a belief in primary care as a focal

point for improvement and an engine of change

• We aim to transfer capability and spread learning as part of

our social mission

• Our experience has been gained over more than a decade of

supporting better commissioning and primary care

development

Plan for the day

• Coaching and mentoring

• Effectiveness of coaching

• Coaching as a leadership style

• Coaching – tools and techniques

• Using a coaching style to support staff

• Explore ways of working for the future

• Summary and actions

Coaching and mentoring

Coaching

The art of facilitating the performance, learning and

development of another

Dowey, 1999

Mentoring

Is the relationship between a senior and more junior

member of an organisation directed towards the

advancement and support of the junior member

Fowler and O’Gorman, 2005

Coaching v mentoring

Coaching Mentoring

More structured More informal

More short-term and focused

on specific work issues

More long-term with broader

view of person

Coach does not always need

direct experience of issues

Mentor often more

experienced and qualified

than the mentee

Coach respected for

professional competencies

Mentor often a role model

Types of coaching

Skills coaching - competency of coachee in specific areas

of their work

Performance coaching – develop the coachee’s capability

of using their competence at the right time in the right way

to improve their own performance

• skills coaching and performance coaching can be

delivered by line managers with the necessary coaching

skills and style to engage their staff

Development coaching – improving the performance in

current role but helping coachee develop the capabilities

and capacities to progress in to future roles

Transformational coaching – helping the coachee

transform how they think, feel and behave working on their

issues to create a shift in the wider system

Goleman’s leadership styles

Coercive Authoritative Affiliative Democratic Pace-setting Coaching

Do what

I tell you

Come

with me

People

come

first

What do

you

think?

Do as I

do. Now. Try this

Demands immediate

compliance

Mobilises people

toward a vision

Creates harmony

and builds emotional

bonds

Forges consensus

through participation

Sets high standards

for performance

Develops people for

the future

Use Use Use Use Use Use

in a crisis when changes

require a new vision

to heal rifts in a

team

to build buy-in or

consensus

to get quick results

from highly motivated

and competent team

to help an

employee

improve

performance

to kick-start a

turnaround

When a clear

direction is needed

to motivate

people during

stressful

circumstances

to get input from

valuable

employees

To develop long-

term strengths

With problem

employees

Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Bloomsbury 1999

Effectiveness of coaching

• Impact of coaching

Research studies indicate coaching is effective in

improving performance.

• Olivero comparison

Coaching combined with training approach 4 times

more effective than training alone

• ICF study USA – coaching increased self-awareness,

better goal setting, more balanced life, lower stress,

increased confidence, enhanced communication

Coaching as an effective vehicle for learning

• Learner controls how and what they learn

• Focus on skills, behaviours or personal transformation

• Supports personal experimentation and reflection

• Can build motivation to learn and learn competence

• Coaching is timely and of immediate relevance and

applicable to current work situation

The Johari Window: a model for soliciting and

giving feedback Feedback

SELF

Things I know Things I don’t know

Dis

clo

su

re

Things they

know

Things they

don’t know

UNCONSCIOUS

OPEN

WINDOW

BLIND SPOT

FAÇADE

(Hidden Area)

UNKNOWN

OT

HE

RS

Luft and Ingram

Double-loop learning

EXPERIENCE

TESTING

CONCEPTUALISATION

REFLECTION

DEVELOPING

INSIGHTS &

UNDERSTANDING

RE-FRAMING

RECOGNISING A

NEW PARADIGM

Chris Argyris, 1991

Whitmore’s GROW model

• Goal setting

- define desired outcome

• Reality

- identify real issues, opportunities, problems and

barriers

• Options

- problem-solving focus generating possible solution

• Way forward

- gaining commitment to proposed actions and

concrete next steps

Whitmore J (2009) Coaching for Performance

Examples of questions for each part of

GROW model Goal setting Reality

What do you want to

achieve?

What is happening at the moment?

What do you need to know

about?

What do you mean by that? (Can

you give me an example?)

Options Way forward

Is there anything else you

could do?

What are you going to do, by

when?

What would happen if you? When should we review progress?

Explain how that might work? How will you know that you have

succeeded?

Active Listening

• Give people your full attention

• Give messages that you are listening

• Be ready to paraphrase or ‘play back’

• If you do not understand – ask

• Acknowledge the other person’s feelings

• Encourage the other person if they appear uncertain

• Do not respond until the other person has finished

• Beware of passing judgement too quickly

Self management

• Don’t fill silences

• Be aware of your emotions and their effects

• Listen to your intuition

• Recognise your strengths and limits

• Maintain your integrity

• Seek out feedback

Group work

• Coachee – to identify an issue

• Coach – use the GROW model to explore

– Think about use of open questions

– Support the coachee to find their own solutions

– Active listening

Where to go next

• What are you noticing about your coachee?

• What are they saying?

• How are they saying it?

• What do you notice about their body language and self

presentation?

• Anything else that particularly strikes you?

• As you notice your client what thoughts, insights and

feelings does this trigger for you?

The three levels of listening

• Listen at three different levels - groups of four

• One person speaker – tell true story about an issue (5

mins)

• Each group member listens at one level only:

– Facts – what was the significant information – balance between

“knowns” and “unknowns”

– Feelings – how is the speaker feeling – non verbal signs – what

are they feeling

– Intentions – what is real story , how do you feel speaker will deal

with situation

• Feedback – according to speaker how accurate was

each person’s feedback

What else can you add?

• What techniques and approaches do you have in your

‘kitbag’ that you feel competent to use?

• How will you decide what a useful approach to this issue

might be?

• What will you continue to notice as you help them to

explore their issue?

• What kinds of information might lead you to pause or

change tack?

Story boards

Now Time +1 Time + 2

Time + 3 Time + 4 Desired state

Balloon

Work life balance

Practice

• Use another model or technique to help the coachee

Elegant Challenge

• Tactful and constructive

• Avoid cornering people – allow them to save face

• Carefully chosen moment – rather than immediate

challenge

• Don’t be punitive – aim is to learn and develop

• Acknowledge vulnerability of coachee

• Undertake in genuine spirit of compassion and

commitment to develop and improve

Recovery questions

• X is against me

– How is X against you?

• It’s just not possible

– What would make it possible?

• People don’t understand

– Who doesn’t understand?

• Nobody tells me anything

– What is it you want to know?

• No-one ever talks to me here

– No-one? Who doesn’t talk to you? When?

Understanding differences Theorists

Logical, sound theories

Step by step approach

Perfectionists

Analytical

Rational more than subjective

Seek to maximise certainty

Pragmatists

Problems are a challenge

Like to experiment

Like to get on with things

Impatient with open ended discussions

Practical down to earth

Activists

Enthusiastic about new/here and now

Brainstorm

Act first, think later

Bored with implementation

Reflectors

Range of perspectives

Think, then think again

Cautious

Action based on ‘big picture’

Listen, then contribute

Adopt a low profile

Honey and Mumford

Collective leadership

• Culture that needs new mindsets and skills

• Continuous improvement

• Quality, persistence, professionalism

• Enabling leaders (not just at board level) across the

organisation to work together to achieve success

– Clear direction

– Alignment

– Commitment

Deciding where to focus the impact matrix

Quick wins

Transformation

Potentially

symbolic

Potential stepping

stones

Le

vel of

change

High

Low

Time

Immediate Longer-term

Passmore, 2006

Transferable skills

• Open questioning

• Supporting individuals to work through and find their own

solutions

• Use models to help people consider issues/work-life

balance etc.

• Active listening

• Challenging to help people perform to their potential

Styles of working for the future

• Coaching – not the only style, important to use other

management and leadership styles

• GROW model – not linear, whole session could focus on

goals and clarifying them. May want to look at outcomes

or challenges as alternatives

• Coaching involves opening up issues, considering

alternatives, closing down issues

• Important to develop active listening skills, be mindful

and in the moment

Using a coaching style as a manager

• When

• How

• Why

• What

• Who

What are you going to do differently

• How can you use the learning from today in the

workplace?

• What do you need from others to support this?

• What other support do you need?

Summary

Coaching:

• Focuses on enhancing overall leadership capability

• Recognises leaders benefit from opportunities to reflect

on organisational challenges

• Develops effectiveness in leaders

• Managers can use a coaching style - however there are

times when more directive or authoritative management

is needed

• Skills are transferable – useful in meetings, for

mentoring, to support line reports

• Some aspects that executive coaches can explore

cannot be explored easily by line managers

Thank you for attending